General Questions

EU Conflict Minerals Regulation Questions

13 Facts about the Conflict Minerals Regulation of the EU that you should know

On June 15, 2016, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the European Union reached a political understanding on the broad framework for a future EU Conflict Minerals regulation. This FAQ document outlines key elements of the political understanding of agreed upon on June 15, 2016.

General Questions

How do I find out whether or not my company is obliged to engage in Conflict Minerals Reporting?

From a legal perspective, only companies which are publicly traded in the USA under the supervision of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must comply with the rules of Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Act. However, these companies will need to examine their whole supply chain in order to trace back the origin of minerals. In this way, the reporting requirements will be passed down the supply chain and will affect suppliers all around the world.

How do I find out whether or not my company's products contain conflict minerals?

Under the CFSI approach to conflict minerals reporting, minerals are traced back to the smelter where they have been processed, with the smelters being independently audited for their conflict-status. This means that you need to find out from which smelters your company and your company's suppliers are sourcing the minerals in question. To learn more about the CFSI reporting framework, go to www.conflictfreesourcing.org.

What languages does iPMCP support?

The current version of iPCMP fully supports English, Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, German, and Portuguese. For the conflict minerals report form fields, all languages that are available within the Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT) can be displayed in iPCMP.

My company only supplies companies in Europe/Asia/South America. Does this mean that I am not affected by the Conflict Minerals Reporting requirements?

U.S.-based companies with a filing obligation to the SEC are required to report conflict minerals usage and origin for their entire company, so entities outside of the U.S. are in scope for conflict mineral reporting.

My company is not based in the U.S. Why do I need to provide any data to you?

While your company may not have an obligation to report information to the U.S. SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), as a supplier to our company (based in the US) your information is critical to their ability to report to both their customers and, if required, to the U.S. SEC.

What is the benefit of using the iPCMP system instead of the CSFI Conflict Minerals Reporting Template (CMRT)?

The iPCMP system allows for cascade and roll-up of the CFSI data from your supply chain instead of managing individual spreadsheets to and from your suppliers. This makes the whole process transparent and traceable.

What is the functionality of roll-up of reports?

Rolling up reports allows you to aggregate different supplier reports. This requires one or more Conflict Minerals reports which are created either by you or sent by your supplier. These reports may be visible in iPCMP database (e.g., which report is accepted by you on iPCMP system) or in CFSI/CMRT format or stored in your Online Storage.

How do I change the password after login?

When logged in to iPCMP, go to “Preferences”. Enter your current password and the new password into the corresponding fields. To save the new password, click the button “Change password”.

Which type of license would be most appropriate for our company?

Basic License is for 2 users and allows you to roll up reports and receive requests from customers. You are not able to send requests to your suppliers.

Enterprise License comes with 7 named users accounts but as many users can be added as needed. The Enterprise license can be scaled and customized to your specific requirements, is fully integratable and can be hosted on a private server.

How can we get training on iPCMP?

We offer on-demand webinars and regular workshops enabling you to use our tool more effectively. Click here to download the webinar on-demand.Click here to find out when and where the next workshop will take place. Whenever you log in to your account, you can click on the "?" on the top right hand corner of the iPCMP page to access the Help section. Here you can download the latest iPCMP User Guide which gives you an overview of the iPCMP functions. You can also access the iPCMP eLearning Module which walks you through the various functions of the tool with accompanying screenshots and videos.

For a more hands-on training there are two other options: As a Premium and Premium Plus License holder, you can book the iPCMP Interactive Guided Tour for a minimal fee of $95 to help speed up your reporting process. You can also contact a consultant directly for one on one training session.

Can we upgrade from BASIC to PREMIUM; PREMIUM to PREMIUM PLUS etc.?

Yes. You can subscribe for the desired license type via the admin ID. The data/reports that are currently saved on the system will be retained after the subscription change.

Is there a licensing agreement that is agreed upon by companies when they purchase an iPCMP license?

Yes, when you log in to the iPCMP using your unique login information for the first time, you are prompted to read the iPCMP usage terms and conditions and to agree to them.

I am a supplier at the start of the supply chain with no suppliers to my company, is it necessary to get registered to iPCMP?

Your information will be very valuable for lots of our iPCMP users as you probably have very good knowledge about the origin of your raw materials. Since you are at the start of the supply chain, you should choose the BASIC license, which is available for FREE, to enable you to handle incoming customer requests.

Is there any specialized IT setup that has to be done to use the iPCMP tool?

iPCMP is a web-based portal. So you just need to have Internet access and a web browser installed on your system. The Enterprise License can be either web-based or hosted within your company's firewall.